Indian shares fell for a second straight session on Monday, as a combination of rising bond yields, weak macro data released on Friday and rising Covid-19 cases in the country sapped investors’ appetite for risk.
U.S. bond yields hovered near a 13-month peak today as data indicating a surge in China’s factory and retail sector activity in the first two months of the year added to investor optimism about economic recovery.
Closer home, data released on Friday showed that India’s industrial production logged an annual fall of 1.6 percent in January, in contrast to the revised 1.6 percent expansion in December.
Another report revealed that India’s consumer price inflation advanced to 5.03 percent in February from 4.06 percent in January. The expected rate was 4.83 percent.
On the Covid-19 front, India is witnessing a surge in new coronavirus cases, with Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu contributing more than 78 percent of the new cases recorded on Monday. Partial lockdowns have already been enforced in some cities.
The 30-share BSE Sensex ended the session down 397 points, or 0.78 percent, at 50,395.08, while the broader NSE Nifty index dropped 101.45 points, or 0.67 percent, to 14929.50.
Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Finance, GAIL, Bajaj FinServ and Divis Laboratories tumbled 2-3 percent in the Nifty pack, while Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra and JSW Steel all rose over 2 percent.
Pritish Nandy Communications shares jumped almost 10 percent after Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons and Chairman of Tata Trusts, acquired a stake in the company through market purchases last week, in his personal capacity.
Sensex Falls 397 Points; Nifty Drops 101 Points
2021-03-15 11:22:00
